Fishing reports, tackle specials and angling politics from Downrigger Shop, Thursday 4th August 2016

Fog, cold rain, and winds. But the fish are there! The big buzz recently being a crazy run of big kings at Merimbula, on the NSW South Coast. Here’s Michael Frith:

See the wharf in the background? Here’s a pic of it from Narooma News. Note the popper:

They’re biting in the Big Smoke, too. Some great reports coming in and can I just say how grateful we are to the blokes who take the time to let our readers know what’s happening, offshore? Josh Graf:

Stock up, Josh! Just in case, you can’t be too careful, etc etc (:^D) Steve Battishall out there on Saturday 30th July, and finding some cracker kings. How good is it that you can go wide with a few jigs, a few live baits, and a few mates – and come back with not just some beautiful fish, but with memories that will last you a lifetime?

Hopefully he’ll be there next trip, Steve. Murray M at Texas same day and, like the top bloke he is, sends a report for our readers on how things went:

Yours truly out last week and found some good mark showing on the western edge of the Mountain:

I say to Fitz ‘we’ve gotta watch the rod tip carefully for light bites and, if we see one, release some line so the fish can get the bait down.’ First drop to the bottom in 425 metres and, as soon as the line stops going out, he operates the power lever to bring it up 5 metres, away from snags. The rod tip slams down, loads up, and we’re onto a good one. So much for finesse:

Here’s thirteen seconds worth:

The big ones fight all the way to the top:

Fitz super pleased with the first blue eye of the day:

From then on it was a steady procession of quality. Gemfish:

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